


Underneath the song there is another song

by Amie33



Series: Timey-wimey family [4]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Food Sex, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-07
Updated: 2013-01-10
Packaged: 2017-11-18 04:30:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amie33/pseuds/Amie33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been a few weeks now. At first she wasn’t worried, but time has passed by and her doubts have become conviction, and they are now certainty. Absolute certainty. She can’t deny the truth anymore: she's pregnant, and it scares her. It isn’t something she has planned, and she has no idea of what to do about it and how she’s going to deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Month 1

**Author's Note:**

> Third part of the series, that focus on the pregnancy of River. It stands before We stand in awe we created life for River, and during To build a home for the Doctor. It will be a collection of scenes, one per month, about important moment of the pregnancy. There will be a mix of genres, fluff, emotions, adventure, smut, etc. and timey-wimey. About a half of the fic is written yet, I hope I'll be able to update regularly (I don't promise anything though lol).  
> Beta'd by Tara.

_Chapter 1 - Month 1_

They are sitting under the console, side to side on the swing seats -he made one for her after they once tried to both fit into his and succeeded in nothing but breaking it. He is currently half hidden in the wires, mumbling things she isn’t listening to and fixing things she isn’t interested in. He must have told her what they are doing here, hours ago when they began working, but she didn’t pay attention. She is preoccupied and can’t focus.

It’s been a few weeks now. At first she wasn’t worried, but time has passed by and her doubts have become conviction, and they are now certainty. Absolute certainty. She can’t deny the truth anymore: she's pregnant, and it scares her. It isn’t something she has planned, and she has no idea of what to do about it and how she’s going to deal with it. How _they_ are going to deal with it - because she isn’t going through this alone. She knows he’s going to be with her, whatever happens, whatever they decide, because they have to make the decisions _together_. She just has to tell him. The question is how, and how is he going to react? She purses her lips for the hundredth time today and breathes in deeply. Somehow she _has_ to find a way to tell him.

“River?”

She jumps as he almost shouts her name and he must have tried to draw her attention a few times before. She turns her head to find he is staring at her with concern.

“Are you alright?”

She nods and smiles reassuringly. He doesn’t seem convinced, raising an eyebrow in disbelief, but she smiles brighter and he doesn’t insist. Instead he asks her opinion about what he is doing, and she answers cheerfully, giving him a few pieces of advice and he disappears between the wires again. A few seconds and her mind wanders.

She’s pregnant. She doesn’t know how it could have happened - well, of course she knows _how_ , she even knows where and when, she just doesn’t understand. It should not have been possible. They have always taken every precautions - or they thought they have, but obviously something went wrong. A baby is not the best thing that could have happened to them. Of course it’s a miracle - a piece of her and a piece of him intimately linked to create a new life and it’s breathtaking. But there are so many issues, because it’s him, because it’s her, and they both have a complicated life, ennemies tracking them and danger surrounding each of their steps, and how are they gonna raise a child through this? She knows she wants the best for this life to be, and she’s not sure they can provide it.

The Doctor asks for something and she holds him a wire distractedly. She looks at him as he takes the cable and wonders how he will react when she tells him. Will he understand? Will she have to repeat so he really believes her? Will he smile like she has never seen him smile before? Will he cry out his joy, or will he just cry? Will he hug her and make her spin around while kissing her until she can’t breathe anymore? Will he realize all the difficulties they’ll have to face but promise her he’ll take care of her and everything’s gonna be okay?

Sparks suddenly shoot out beneath her and she is distracted by the Doctor yelling and cursing in different languages. She sighs. He still hasn’t learnt how the Tardis works, and she doubts he’ll ever learn. Despite all the things she keeps telling him, he still manages to create explosions and fires and one day he’s going to blow himself up like that... It’s like he forgets everything she tells him and acts like a child purposely.

When his head pops out in front of her, his face is covered with dust and she pats his hair to put out the little flames here.

“I asked you the green cable.” He winces and... is he saying it’s her fault?

“And I gave it to you.”

“It was the red one.”

“Of course it wasn’t, it was the green...”

He raises his hand in front of her eyes and... actually he is holding the red cable. She gulps then slowly turns her head down, and there it is, the green cable, still on her lap.

“Don’t worry,” he tells her softly while she blushes, “it happens to me all the time.”

He winks at her and takes the right cable from her lap, carefully replacing it by the red one. She is mortified. Maybe it happens to him all the time, but she’s not him, she can focus and pick the right colour. She shouldn’t make such a stupid mistake - but here she is, thinking about something else and it’s becoming ridiculous.

“I’m pregnant.”

The words slip out of her mouth before she can actually think about them. It wasn’t so difficult after all. She breathes out, her heart a little lighter, and looks up, preparing herself to discover his surprised face - of whatever reaction he can have. Except he is not looking at her at all, still rummaging in the wires as she has not just said something important.

“Yes,” he answers, “good.”

She stares at him with incredulity; all of the reactions she has been imaging, this one was clearly unexpected. It can’t be true.

“Do... Do you understand what I said?” she asks because she can’t believe the information doesn’t affect him more.

“Yes, of course, later, I’m finishing that and...”

She doesn’t hear what he says after that. She lets all the cables drop on the ground as she stands up and leave. The fear she felt a minute ago is completely gone, replaced by anger. He can’t just act like it’s nothing and he’s gonna deal with it “later” because she needs him _now_. She’s just told him something that’s going to change their lives, deeply, definitely, absolutely change their lives and he thinks... Does he really believe that fixing some stupid thing in the Tardis is more important than this?

She runs away, incapable of staying there and watching him play like a child with his ship while she needs him and his support. His childish manners can be cute and funny sometimes but he has to stop, she won’t stand that anymore if he doesn’t take that seriously; it’s too much for her.

“River!”

He calls her but she doesn’t turn back and she begins to cry - great, tears, exactly what she needs now. She can hear him fumbling with the cables and there’s a distinct thud as he might fall on the ground - because surely one of his feet got stuck in one of the wires, again. He curses for the second time in five minutes but she’s already far away, walking and she doesn’t know where she’s going, anywhere but here.

“River!”

He yells her name again but she doesn’t pay attention. She needs time to think and to calm down and she surely shouldn’t be upset with him now - it’s just the way he is and she can’t blame him. So why are tears running down her face and she feels so cross?

He runs behind her and that’s only when he catches her arms that she realizes he has been following her. She pushes him away but stops walking and looks up to face him. She sniffles and wipes away the tears on her cheeks. He scratches his cheek as he sees her face and winces, and for a second he really looks concern.

“Have I done... Have I said something wrong?”

“Actually, yes.” She might sounds rude but he still hasn’t caught yet and it doesn’t calm her.

“Oh,” is all he can say and for a while he is very absorbed with some spot on the wall, clearly avoiding to look at her. When he finally turns his head back in her direction she sighs and repeats the same thing for the third time.

“I’m _pregnant_.” She tries to calm down but her voice is trembling and she’s sure she’s about to cry again, stupid hormones. She is usually not so emotional.

He looks at her like he doesn’t understand what she has said. “Yes, yes. I know,” he tells with confusion and it’s her time not to understand.

“You know?”

“Yes I know, you have already told me last time...” He runs a hand in his hair as he doesn’t know what to do and hesitates to touch her after the way she has just pushed him.

“I haven’t!” she defends herself, because of course she hasn’t, she would have remembered.

“You have,” he replies and stops, and then they stare at each other as they realize their mistake. “You haven’t done that yes, have you?” he finally whispers and she nods, biting her lips. She is suddenly ashamed that she has overreacted whereas it was absolutely not his fault.

“I’m sorry...”

“Don’t” he shushes her, “it’s my fault, I should have known.”

She smiles shyly, and before she could reply something she bursts into tears. She barely sees him smiling between tears and he comes closer, his arms wrapping around her as she can’t stop the sobbing. She hopes she won’t react that way during nine months, because it’s really _not_ her and she’s not sure she will stand the tears for so long. He doesn’t seem to care and rubs her back while she presses her face in his neck, and for a while they don’t move, his jacket soaking as the tension she has felt those last few days disappears into tears.

“So,” she says when she can talk again, “I have told you.”

“You have.”

“And, what did you say?”

He smiles, kissing her forehead as he replies.

“Spoilers.”

**_tbc_ **


	2. Month 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone reading, here is chapter 2 ;)  
> this one has been beta'd by my lovely Jenn.

_Chapter 2 – Month 2_

They run into the Tardis and River shuts down the door behind them. Her hearts beat fast in her chest after their course and she stops, leaning her back against the wood to catch her breath. It trembles slightly, once, twice as something in the other side hits it, and she can hear roars and growls as the door resists. She watches as the Doctor running to the console and dancing around it, and finally the assaults against the door stop as they disappear into the vortex. She sighs, brushing her hair back off her face and wincing as goo slides over her fingers and onto her forehead.

“Dinosaurs, really?” she asks and the Doctor looks off the console to smile at her. He was covered by the same goo from head to toe, a mix of green and brown and yellow, and she doesn’t want to think about what it is.

“Dinosaurs!” His voice is fulled of excitement, as it is the best thing he has ever said. He clasps his hand like he doesn’t realize they are dirty and bounces on his feet. “Dinosaurs River, it was amazing.”

She can’t but smile at his words. “Yes Sweetie, of course it was... until you walked on the tail of a carnivore and...”

“I couldn’t know,” he protests vigorously.

“... and we fell into that... thing.” She sniffles her hand covered in goo and she feels sick. She has been lucky for now and hasn’t suffered from morning sickness a lot, but she isn’t sure she will resist the horrible smell that emanated from that thing.

She walks to the Doctor, leaving a big slimy trace on where she was leaning on the door a second before. He looks at his own hands and body, finally realizing how dirty they are, and she winces and swallows as he lifts his fingers up to his face, smelling them with interest. She reaches him just in time to grab his arm and stop him from actually _licking_ them.

“You know what? I don’t even want to know what it is.”

He frowns as she swallows again. This thing is really awful and all she needs right now is a shower to get it all off of her. And then she will burn all their clothes. And she will clean up all the rooms of the Tardis they will cross to erase every bit of that smelly disgusting dinosaur’s something.

“Are you okay?” the Doctor asks, concern on his face, and she knows he must worry because it’s not usual for her to feel that bad because a little adventure with dinosaurs and goo when they almost ended up eaten by one of the beasts - no usually she likes it, it thrills her, and she doesn’t feel sick.

She lets go of his hand and sighs. “Yes, sorry, it’s just that thing that makes me sick.” His hand rests on her hip, comforting, and she smiles at him. “I just need a shower, I’ll feel better after that.”

“Okay.” His hand slides to her hip to her back, pressing her closer to him as he leans in to kiss her. She smacks him on his chest playfully and he pulls back. “You’ll kiss me when you’ll be clean,” she laughs and escapes from his embrace, heading toward the nearest bathroom and she can feel him pout behind her.

“You can join me under the shower though,” she adds, turning her head as she does and she’s rewarded by a brilliant smile on his face. A second later he is running after her.

x.

He tries, of course he tries. He tries to kiss her and touch her, but she can’t let him do. She has enough of that goo on her and if she has to feel more of it she is really going to throw up. They will be kisses and touches _after_ the shower - _in_ the shower could be a possibility too, but only after the whole thing has disappeared.

She kicks her shoes off as the Doctor mimics her action, finally accepting the fact that he won’t be able to lay his hands on her before a while and that faster they clean, the faster he’ll be able to do what he wants.

The shoes are thrown in a corner, far from them and River already feels better. She shimmies out of her trousers then, the Doctor hesitates as he unties his bow-tie. She takes it off his hand and adds it in the pile of their dirty properties before he can react.

“River, no!”

“Yes. We’re going to burn everything, bow-tie included.”

“But, River...”

“ _Everything_.” She stresses the word and he gives up, glancing at his bow-tie a last time like someone has just died. “We’re gonna buy you another.” She tries to lighten his mood and he smiles, but she can feel it’s not enough.

She has to admit, he’s not the one who has some difficulties to let go of his clothes. Her vest is one of her favorite, and she sighs as she reluctantly resigns herself; her vest is added to the pile  at the time as his braces. “Next time you should warn me, I will put on something I don’t like.”

He doesn’t reply, mumbling between his teeth like a child, something that sounds like “I couldn’t know “ and “it wasn’t his fault” and other words of the same kind. River doesn’t pay attention, she is used to his pout as to the way their adventures can turn from a tranquil walk in the forest to a dangerous adventure in which they have to run to save their lives, and she doesn’t really mind. And it’s right, she would have loved this one, without the goo and the dizziness.

The Doctor stop muttering as she gets off her top and tosses it across the room with the other clothes, and she can’t help but smile as his look seem to devour her. Sometimes she wonders how he can still be so attracted to her after all this time, how he can still look surprised even if he must know her body by heart by now. And then she remembers she feels exactly the same for him.

“You have gained weight.” He swallows, his voice weak and hesitant, almost a question. Usually she would have felt cross, or disappointed, but not today.

“Have I?” She turns back, looking her profile in the mirror and she has to admit he is right. It’s still nothing but a little curve on her stomach, but it’s there, real and tangible, and he knows her enough to have noticed it. She stops herself from touching it, remembering how dirty her hands are as she catches their reflection in the mirror. “It’s not gonna stop you know? I wonder what I will look like at the end...”

“You... Which... What end?”

“The end. When the baby will have grown enough and...”

She stops as she distinctly hears him gulping, and when she looks up the expression on his face is confused. More than confused in fact, it’s like he is going to faint, pale and shaking. “River,” his voice murmurs, like he’s afraid of talking, but afraid of keeping quiet, “are you trying to... is there something I don’t know. Do you really... Baby?”

And then she remembers they haven’t done the diaries yet. She had landed in that prehistoric jungle, and then it had been nothing but dinosaurs and running and trying to save their life. She has assumed... Apparently she is wrong. She remembers the first time she tried to tell him, and he already knew - he has always known since.

“I assume this is finally the moment I told you...” She can’t believe this is how it happened for him - is happening - half naked in the bathroom with a smelly and dirty mount of clothes as witnesses. But at least this time she doesn’t feel any stress, because she knows how he feels about it and there’s no reason to be afraid anymore. She takes a deep breath and finally says the words. “I’m pregnant.”

There’s a second when he doesn’t react, like he is frozen, or dead, or paralysed. Then he swallows and closes his eyes, and when he opens it she knows it’s going to be okay. “Are you....” he asks, incapable of finishing.

“Yes,” she breathes out, and his face turns into a brilliant smile.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You mean... You are... We are... Having a _baby_?”

“Yes.” She almost laughs the last one, because she can’t look at him and not as he finally seems to understand and believe her.

“A baby. River we’re having a baby!” He giggles while motioning to her stomach and he tries to hold her but she steps backwards, really incapable of bearing the smell and texture of that goo. “Oh yes, yes, sorry, sorry. You...  You’re having a baby.” He giggles again, saying the word again and again as he is afraid that, if he stops saying it, the reality of it will disappear. “We need to... What do we need to do, exactly? And how... how did it happen? Where? When? How...?”

She smiles as he bounces around the room, and almost trips over the pile of clothes. She would like to answer his questions, but she doesn’t have all the answers, and she knows she can’t give him the others because spoilers... There’s once thing yet.

“Delphi,” She informs him and he stops, staring at her.

“Delphi.”

“Is it where...”

“Yes.”

“When?”

This is too much she can give. She remembers how it happened, and now it seems all clear. He knew about Delphi but that was all - she had been the one choosing the when and anything they did there had been prepared. Delphi, it’s all she can give him and she tells him.

“Okay.” He seems to accept the little he has and smile. “I know where I’m going to take you next time.” He winks, reaching for her but this time it’s too much, and the moment she feels his hand on her and that smell invades her nostrils she can’t hold it anymore. She pushes him away and runs to the toilets, breaking the joyful mood that was setting between them.

When she feels better he’s here, sitting next to her and stroking her back with hands he has somehow cleaned. She looks up at him and smiles weakly as he brushed a curl out of her face.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, and she frowns.

“What for?”

“I would have never brought you there if I had known...” He genuinely seems sorry.

“It’s okay.”

He smiles and strokes her cheek gently. “I know. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

There’s something in his eyes, like he already knows, and somehow she believes him. Everything will be okay.

**_tbc_ **


	3. Month 0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened in Delphi...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter. I hope you're gonna like it as much as I do.  
> Thanks to Jen and Cazzie for their constant comments on that fic ;)  
> and thanks to Jenn and Tara for the beta.

_Chapter 3 - Month 0_

The Tardis lands in Stormcage and she stands up, sliding her feet in a new pair of shoes and her diary in her bigger-in-the-inside pocket. The Doctor is by her side in an instant, the door of her cell still opening easily despite the changes the wardens keep applying after each of her escapes. They don’t seem to understand that nothing can work against a sonic-screwdriver (except wood, but then she would be the one to break the door easily).

“Delphi!” he declares as she steps out with a smile on her face.

“Delphi?”

He seems to hesitate for a moment, trying to decide what her simply repeating his words means. “You... like it, do you?”

She beams at him, her hands wrapping around his neck, her body suddenly pressed all over his. “Oh, Sweetie, of course, Ancient Greece is a gold mine to an archaeologist.” She kisses him and he closes his eyes, but before he can kiss her back she’s already far from him, running into the Tardis.

He sighs, frustrated, but at the same time he can’t help smiling, because he’s always found it incredibly attractive, the way she can act like a child in front a Christmas present when he proposes her historical events or archaeological sites. Knowing the consequences of that adventure makes it even more attractive.

“I’m flying her,” she claims as he follows her into the ship. “I don’t want to land at the wrong place, and I know exactly _when_ we have to land so it’ll be interesting.” He doesn’t reply, watching her as she walks up and around the console, and he can hear the doors shutting behind him. When he reaches River she’s already working with the controls and he follows her orders, admiring the way she seems to be in her perfect element here - he will never admit it to her of course, neither that he admires her nor that she often flies the ship better than him, but that doesn’t prevent him from thinking it anyway.

They land, silently, and when he looks up from the console she is staring at him, inquisitive. “What?”

“Are you alright? You didn’t _try_ to stop me from flying her, didn’t say a single comment about my awful driving, and didn’t even pout because I took you place. What’s happening?”

He smiles. “Nothing.”

She comes closer, frowning, until she almost touches him. “What’s wrong with you? You are usually not so compliant when I play with her. Unless...” she stops and looks at him carefully. “Do you know something about today?”

He doesn't know what to say. If he tells her “spoilers”, she'll understand Delphi is special, and maybe it'll change everything. If he says he doesn't know anything she'll know he's lying - and he doesn't want to lie to her. But if he doesn't say anything at all it'll be suspicious too. Except he's losing time thinking about what to reply and he still hasn't said anything and she's still looking at him with those big bright eyes like she could see right into him. He opens his mouth, but before he can discover what words will come out of it she smiles and kisses his cheek.

“Okay, fine, don't tell me if you can't. I'll be changing, I won't be long.”

Before he can reply she's already turned back and is disappearing into one of the corridors.

“Changing?”

She comes back ten minutes later, dressed up like the perfect Greek; long white toga and matching shawl, leather sandals tied up to her ankles and a golden bangle around her arm. Her hair is loose on her shoulder, and maybe that will be the only strange thing, her blond curls far from the Mediterranean stereotype.

“How do I look?” she asks, turning around so he can look at the entire

“Amazing.”

She grins and winks. “What about you? Do you keep the suit? I'm sure you'll be wonderful with a robe.”

“Where would I put the bow-tie?” He shivers, fidgeting with his bow-tie and thinking about those times when they didn't even exist - dark ages, for sure.

“Right,” she agrees with him. Her hands join his on the bow-tie and she fixes it, before patting his jacket, checking he's ready. Satisfied she takes his arm, and they step out of the Tardis.

x.

They are parked in the forest, in a little distance from the centre of Delphi itself. From where they are, they can hear some noises coming from the city, music and voices.

“Come on,” she hurries him, “we’re gonna be late.”

“Late?”

She doesn’t reply, just tugs on his arms as she begins to walk quickly. It’s only when they reach the first buildings that he understands. People are gathered on the streets, there are flowers and branches full of fruits hung everywhere; he can see a group down, walking slowly up the mountain the city is built on, and he recognizes them as priests. He slows down, trying to see better what’s happening between the crowd, but River pulls at him.

“We need to find a better place, we can’t see anything here.”

She walks though the people and he follows; she knows what she wants and he won’t try to argue. She has said Greece was a dream to archaeologist, and he doesn’t want to come between her and her dream.

Eventually she finds a place she likes, halfway to the top of the hill; they can see more or less the whole path the procession is going to take, and it seems to be the perfect place for them.

After they stop River focuses on what’s happening around her. He can see her scanning everything around them, the people, the buildings, the priests coming closer, and he knows that she tries to remember what she can and that tonight, or maybe tomorrow, she’s going to write down everything. He should check in the Luna’s paper, that still publishes her work even if she’s been found guilty of murder and is supposed to spend her entire life in a high-security prison; he’s sure that he’ll find some work about Delphi and its religious habits somewhere, that will exactly describe their present journey.

“This is the most important festival of the year. People are coming from the entire Greece to attend those celebrations, and sometimes from other countries. The priests are going to stop at each temple and sacred place on their pace and make offerings to all the gods of the City. At the top of the mountain, there’s the temple of Apollo where the Pythia live, and after the procession is over, the priests are going to see her and she’ll give her prediction for the whole year.”

She keeps describing everything which is happening, whispering to the Doctor who silently watches the procession as it moves. Her comments are accurate and pleasant, and for once he feels like she knows more about what’s in front of his eyes than him, but it’s not a bad feeling. He has never been very interesting of archaeology, because he can visit every place and time he wants and find the real people and watch the events as they’re happening, and he thinks it’s better to live things that guessing them from graves and rocks. But when he’s with her it’s different, because she’s living and guessing at the same time and it’s amazing.

“We should have asked Sexy to disable the telepathic translation,” she regrets, sighing as the procession is almost in front of them and they can hear the songs and prayers they are chanting. He should have known she would have preferred the original words for her works. He takes her hand and squeezes it, silently apologizing for his omission. She just smiles and squeezes back, informing him he is forgiven.

They are interrupted by someone screaming. Other cries respond to the first one, and soon the whole crowd is screaming around them. They look for the origin of the panic, and it’s River who finds it, suddenly pointing at some place a few feet from them; people are gathered around something they can’t see. The Doctor doesn’t wait a second, holding her hand tighter and running. He can’t resist, really, a crowd is screaming and something important is happening and he must run to it, try to discover what it is and fix it if he can.

They arrive to the source of the public agitation, pushing people so they can come closer. Eventually they manage to discover why people are screaming, but the Doctor doesn’t understand: all he has in front of his eyes is a fountain - dry, but it’s nothing but a fountain. He looks at River in confusion, and she must know what’s wrong because her face is concerned.

“It’s the Castalia fountain,” she murmurs.

“The... what?” He still doesn’t understand what’s so important about it.

“It’s one of the most sacred places of the site. The priests have to purify themselves with its water before they could enter the temple and hear the Pythia’s oracle. If the fountain is dry... It’s a bad sign. A very bad sign.”

Oh. Religious beliefs. It’s not because he doesn’t believe in the same gods and finds a bit primitive that a dry fountain could be a bad sign for the whole year to come that he doesn’t understand that this is important, for those people. And if the ceremony is somehow cancelled because of that, or if it turns into a general panic (because, who knows what can happen when people believe gods are sending them bad signs?) it will spoil their day and River’s study. It can’t let that happen.

Before she can react he is running again, pulling her by the wrist.

“Doctor, what are you doing?”

“Fixing. It shouldn't be complicated, something must have been broken, or there’s something in the pipes blocking the water. We have to find what and fix it.”

“You can’t!” she tries to stop him. “It’s a gods’ sign. You can’t interfere.”

He turns back and faces her. “I know what those people think. But what if gods send us here to fix this? Won’t we save the day?”

She purses her lips, looking around her at the people crying and shouting that the gods are against them, that the day is cursed and that nothing right is going to happen. Clearly people are moved by the incident - that is more than an incident for them. Can they really let them panick that way?

“Okay,” she breathes out her agreement, and he pulls her until they are next to the fountain. They don’t care about the people gaping at them and crying louder as the Doctor takes his screwdriver and begins to scan the sacred spring. River walks around, looking for the pipe, pressing her hands on it.

“There’s water here,” she informs her husband as he’s looking for his own results.

“I think there’s something stuck in it. Can we open it?” He puts his screwdriver back in his pocket and kneels down in front of the fountain, looking for a trap door. River joins him and she finally finds the opening. She grins at him, before slipping her hand in the now accessible pipe, frowning in concentration. After a few seconds she winces, and the Doctor can hear her fingers scratching against the inside. He asks if she needs help but she shakes her head negatively. “There’s just a rock and... ah!”

She removes a muddy hand out of the pipe, and at the same time water flows back and springs out in the fountain. There’s a clamour in the crowd, cries of joy echoing around them. They suddenly remember where they are and why they were doing that. They stand up, looking at the joyful faces surrounding them. They smile at each other proudly, and the Doctor holds out a handkerchief to River to clean her hand.

“I can’t believe it was so simple,” she admits but he just shrugs. He is about to reply but a man pushes his way through the crowd and there’s a sudden silence setting around him. He looks at the fountain, then looks back at the Doctor and River, staring at them and they can’t know what he thinks.

“Thank you,” he finally tells them. “You saved our day. The whole city is very grateful to you, err...” He trails off, silently asking their identity.

“I’m the Doctor, and this is my wife, River.”

“Doctor, River,” he bends his head as he says their names, “Please consider yourselves as our guests.”

x.

The priest doesn’t lie. After the calm is set down again and the procession continues where it has stopped, they have everything they need before they can even ask them, and even more. They are given the best places to watch the end of the rite; they can hear all the prayers and all the songs, and the Doctor thinks he has rarely seen River so happy.

The procession reaches the Temple of Apollo without any other incident. The priests enter the sacred place, and during all the time they’re in nobody talks, waiting for the oracle of the Pythia. The tension is palpable in the end; the oracle is going to give the line for the whole year, and if the signs are bad, it’s going to be difficult for everyone in the entire Greece - but if the signs are good, everything is going to be good and prospect. It’s the most important day of the year and everybody knows that.

River holds the Doctor’s hand tightly, knowing that it’s just archaic beliefs and superstitions but she feels concerned for those people. He squeezes her hand and smiles, and with that she feels better. Nothing wrong can happen today.

There’s a murmur spreading in the crowd as the priests finally stepped out of the temple. The one that thanked them minutes ago moves toward them and raises a hand, and just like that everybody stop talking, waiting for his words with respect.

“The Gods are kind. It’s going to be a good year. Prosperous and fruitful. So has said the Pythia.”

There are screams of joy echoing his words and people begin to dance and hug each other and some of them even cry. The elation is infectious and the Doctor bounces on his feet like a child, clasping his hands and spinning around before reaching for River and kissing her. This is partly thanks to them if the oracle is so good, isn’t it? She smiles against his mouth, kissing him back, and their embrace is forgotten among the general euphoria.

x.

The rest of the day is devoted to the celebration of the good oracle. There is music and dancing, wine and good food, smiles and laughter. Everybody is enjoying the good news and the celebrations won’t stop until the sunrise. The Doctor and River stay for the night, never rejecting the possibility of a good party, and especially when there’s dancing involve.

They are about to make their way back to the Tardis and continue the evening in some more private place, when unexpectedly one of the priest they saw during the afternoon comes to them and asks them to go with him. They follow him, curious to see what he wants and where he’s taking them. When they are far enough from the heart of the celebration not to be heard, he announces that the Pythia wants to see them, and thank them for what they have done today. River shivers and frowns, so briefly the priest can’t see her but the Doctor knows her well and he can feel her.

“What’s wrong?” he whispers while they keep walking in the direction of the temple.

“Nobody can talk nor even see the Pythia, except for his priests. Only in specific occasions... And especially _not_ women.” He can’t tell if she’s worried or highly excited to be, maybe, the first and only woman to enter the sacred place and to discover the mysteries only known by a few people in the entire history. He smiles. He couldn’t have imagined the day would be so fruitful, and he doubts he could ever make such a gift to River again.

As they enter the temple, their mood changes though. They couldn’t tell what it is exactly, the bang of the heavy wooden door closing being them; the height of the walls and columns, so big and imposing they can’t see where their top is; the sound of their feet on the ground, echoing in a corridor lit up only by flickering candles; the smell hanging in the air, that was like incense and something else, something none of them can define; or maybe it is the fact that, despite their own beliefs (or absence of beliefs in that case) the place feels sacred, inhabited by something powerful they can’t completely understand.

They follow the priests, and despite their efforts it’s like they can’t remember the path they take. The Doctor wonders if it’s because of the food and drinks they had during the party, or if there is some technology here that causes it... Next to him River doesn’t say a word, her lips purse and his brow furrowed slightly. She seems unsure, maybe a bit lost, and it’s not usual - but nothing feels usual in this place.

After a while they leave the corridors and enter a room. The walls are covered with drawings and the unknown scent is more present here. There are lots of candles and a big heart where flames are dancing. In front of the fire, a woman is sitting - the Pythia they guess. She doesn’t turn back when they enter, and it’s only when the priest leaves and lets them alone that she begins to speak.

“The Doctor,” she says, her voice low and hoarse, and it doesn’t sound like a female voice, not even like a human voice, “the one who came from beyond the stars and beyond the night.” She turns then, looking straight to him and it’s like she’s staring inside of him, her eyes shining red because of the flames. “The healer, the fighter, the last of his kind, almost.” She pauses and closes her eyes. “And his wife, River, the evasive water, generous and dangerous, mysterious and unpredictable...” She opens her eyes to River who shivers despite the hot air.

The Pythia stays silent for a few seconds, and the Doctor wonders what to do. He doesn’t feel like he can move and speak until she has given them the right to do so, and his natural need to move and run seems to be restrained. He wonders how she can know so much about them, or seem to know; there’s something in here that is beyond his knowledge.

“You have seen everything and have travelled so far, knowing things anybody does and still here you are, sent by the Gods, helping my people and saving them...” She stands up and walks to them, slowly. Close now they can see she’s only human, maybe drugged by whatever fills the air and gives her her premonitory powers, but still human. “It’s important for them, and it’s important for me. Let me give you a favor in return.”

She turns her head and someone they haven’t noticed yet come to them, their head hidden by a large hood, a tray in their hand with a cup on it. The Pythia takes the glass and whoever it is backs up and disappears in a dark corner of the room.

“The Doctor, River,” the Pythia bends her head and suddenly she doesn’t look so intimidating anymore “may your year be as fruitful as ours.”

They look at each other for a second, hesitating. Everything was so mysterious here, and can they trust that woman? But the Doctor knows, whatever happens here, the consequences are nothing but wrong. He takes the cup the first and drinks a gulp, before passing it to River and she does the same, their eyes never breaking contact.

“Thank you,” he finally whispers to the Pythia and she looks up, taking the glass from River’s hand and smiling - a real and generous smile.

“Now go,” she demands and they obey, not really thinking about it. Another priest leads them to the exit, and while they walk he feels something warm running in his veins, and his head seems to spin... He looks next to him and River feels uneasy too, shifting, her hands trembling.

When they finally step outside, it’s like hours have passed. They walk away from the temple, maybe a bit faster than necessary, and unconsciously they head toward the Tardis, running from the celebration still proceeding. The cold air of the night feels good on their skin, but it’s not enough to erase the giddy feeling that has invaded their limbs. The Doctor doesn’t seem so wrong though, while River suddenly stops walking, leaning against a wall for support.

He reaches for her immediately, worried than maybe he has done something wrong; but when he touches her her eyes shine, and before he can ask if she’s okay she wraps a hand around his neck and presses him close to her. She kisses him, passionately, and he can’t help but kissing her back, heat radiating all over his body. He closes his own arm around her and presses her closer, barely breathing between their frantic kiss, and he knows suddenly what the feel is. Whatever the Pythia gave them, it turns them on, and fast. River is already rolling her hips against his, nipping and licking at every bit of skin she can reach, trying to tear his clothes apart, moaning loudly. He is vaguely aware of taking her hand before he can’t control himself anymore, and tugging her all the way along the Tardis. The moment he closes the door and she’s on him again, everything disappears in a blur.

 x.

When the Doctor finally regains conscience, he’s laying the wrong way on his bed, and the air of the room is cool against his naked skin. He brushes away one of River’s curly strands that tickles his nose and looks down; there are bites on her throat and neck, scratches along her shoulders and rib cage, and a bruise is darkening on her hips. He smiles as he realizes his body seems to be covered with the same marks.

He runs his fingers gently over the marks, only proofs of their obviously passionate lovemaking. Whatever the Pythia has given them, it was strong, and he has not a slightest memory of the latest hours - what a pity, he thinks, according to their bodies, the night must have been really interesting.

River shifts in her sleep and shivers, gooseflesh appearing on her skin. He turns back, looking for a piece of duvet and draping them in it. He presses closer against his wife, his face in the crook of her neck and his arm wrapped around her waist. He closes his eyes, stroking her belly softly and he can’t help but smiling. Somehow, this is how it begins.

 **_tbc_** _  
_


	4. Month 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can thank Tara for her very quick beta of this chapter!

_Chapter 4 - Month 3_

He kisses her one last time before rolling off of her and she snuggles against his side instantly, wrapping an arm around his chest and tangling her legs with his. She sighs contentedly as he holds her and kisses her head. For a while they lie still, catching their breath as their bodies cool down.

By some kind of miracle, they seem to be more or less linear recently. He doesn’t know if it’s going to last or if it’s just a bubble of bliss that’s going to burst the next time they meet, and he takes as much of it as he can. It’s like a miracle to have her, regularly, to watch her as her body changes to something rounder and beautiful while a life is growing inside of her. When he found her, years and years ago in that dark place and she gave birth to their child, he hadn’t dared to hope that one day he would have the chance to watch and live all the time before when she would be radiant and wonderful.

He doesn’t know if it’s the hormones running in her veins, or if she has just accepted the situation and realized what a beauty it is, but she’s been elated and exuberant for the past few weeks. He thinks he has never seen her smile or laugh so much before, she’s eager for everything and especially for him. If they meet during one of his or her adventures, she flirts and smiles and winks and always looks for some kind of contact, maybe too much and he has to stop himself from blushing. If she arrives directly in the Tardis she doesn’t bother with flirting, simply crashing against him and snogging him until they can’t breath anymore. They always end in the bedroom, and don’t leave for hours.

Sex with River has always been good - more than good, brilliant. But sex with a pregnant River is a whole new world. She’s more intense, more playful, and more sensitive. It’s a game between them to find the new spots that make her writhe and moan and fall apart; a lick on her skin, a light touch of his fingers, a few words whispering in her ears and she’s gone. They can spend entire days just looking for what works and what doesn’t, until they’re too exhausted to move.

She shifts against him and sighs happily now, her breath still erratic as she kisses his chest. A second after she’s laughing slightly and he asks her why. She looks up at him and she is beautiful, her cheeks red, her lips swollen and her hair a mess around her hair - she seems happy and utterly satisfied and it’s good to know he’s one of the reason why she is.

“Do you think the baby knows what we’re doing all day long?”

He laughs too, stroking her back gently as he talks. “I think she doesn’t. And even if she does, she would have completely forgotten by the time she’s born. All that matters is that she knows you’re happy, it’s good for her.”

Something in River’s face changes as he says those words, and he wonders what’s wrong. Her lips tremble and it’s like she has stopped breathing. He repeats his sentence in his head, frowning, worried by her sudden change of mood, but he can’t find what could have caused such a reaction. Eventually she swallows, tears in her eyes.

“ _She_? Did you say _she_?”

“Yes, I did, I...”

“Is it a girl? Is our baby a girl? How do you... Have you met her already?” Her voice is a mix of emotion and excitement as she sits up, her hands gripping his arm so tightly he can feel her nails digging into his skin.

“You... you don’t know?” He knows it’s a way to allude her question, and to not tell her that he _has_ in fact already met her, because he’s not sure that it will please her to know the circumstances of their child’s birth, when he was all young and not knowing anything; even “spoilers” will be a confession. But his questions is not only a way to avoid telling her the truth - because by now she should know.

She looks at him with confusion and blinks. “I... no. Not yet. The scans were...”

“No, no.” He cuts her off, shaking his head in negation as he sits up her next to her, brushing his fringe out of his face to look at up properly. “I’m sorry. I thought you were able to feel it already, like I do.”

“Feel?” She frowns and he knows the initial emotion of knowing something new about her child is now mixed with something else, curiosity.

“You know that Time Lords can communicate by thoughts.” She nods and at the same time he can hear her silent agreement. _“Yes.”_

“The baby can too.” He gently removes her hand from his arm and places their crossed fingers against her stomach. She looks at it and he can feel she holds her breath, like something is suddenly going to happen.

“I don’t... Why can’t I feel it - _her_?” Her voice trembles, frustrated and maybe a bit jealous, because he knows there’s an unsaid question: why can’t she feel the life growing up inside of her while _he_ can?

“I’m not sure. Maybe because you’re not completely Time Lord. Or maybe... you just don’t know it is here.” He smiles and grips her hand tighter. “Close your eyes.”

She frowns, a bit suspicious, but complies anyway, breathing in deeply. He waits a few seconds until he thinks she’s ready, and then...

He immediately knows it works, because she opens her eyes wide and she gasps. “Is it...”?”

“Yes,” he replies and she blinks a few times, tears in her eyes.

“It’s...” She can’t find any word to describe how it feels, and he understands, because there’s no way to. The baby doesn’t have clear thoughts, and he can’t hear them like he does when he shares his mind with Sexy or when River talks with him that way. It’s more like feelings, emotions, waves of sensations. It’s a conscience to be that twirls around theirs, stroking their souls, curious, questioning, loving. He knows it doesn’t take her more than a few seconds to make the difference between him and River, and she abandons his own trail of thoughts to focus on River’s.

“Hello you...” he hears River murmurs to their child and he smiles. It was something to know that the pregnancy turns her so happy and beautiful, but he thinks there’s nothing more precious in the whole universe than the blissful look on her face.

“It’s beautiful,” she says and he can’t but agree. “It is.”

“Can I... Do you think I can feel it by myself now?” She purses her lips, a bit anxious of the answer, and completely unaware of the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I don’t know. Let’s try.”

She nods and he lets go of her hand, breaking at the same time the contact between their three thoughts. The Doctor can still feel the baby’s, far in the back of his mind, and River’s, clearer, stronger; and the Tardis of course, always with him. They are the most important women in his life right now, and he always feel better when they are all around him.

He looks at River, who does nothing but frown during a while. Then she smiles, and beams at him, and he knows it’s okay.

“I can feel her. I can feel her.”

She giggles, and cries, and cries and giggles at the same time. Before he can reply she kisses him with passion and they fall back on the bed. There are more laughter as she kisses him and he strokes her gently.

“Thank you,” she finally says, her voice trembling a bit.

“You’re welcome.” He brushes her cheek, trying to wipe her tears away and she sniffles.

“I’m sorry. Stupid hormones.”

“Don’t. I find it beautiful.”

She frowns at him, like she often does when she doesn’t believe him. “Do you?”

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Even when you’re a sobbing mess.”

She smacks his chest and he grips her hand, and they fight for a while between the sheets, until he had her pinned under him and they’re both breathless. He kisses her gently then, nuzzling against her cheek and she sighs.

“I hate you. And so does the baby,” she whispers and he smiles.

“No, you don’t.”

_**tbc** _


	5. Month 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another fluffy chapter. I promise it's gonna change for chapter 6. But it's like I can't stop writing cuteness for that fic...  
> Chapter beta'd by Jenn.

_Chapter 5 - Month 4_

The Doctor opens another door and turns another corner. He’s in a ship, a big ship, and he’s been walking in it for a few minutes already. He’s looking for River. She’s called him, just a casual “Hello Sweetie, want to join me?” sent on his psychic paper, and so he came. He had no idea when she is, what she is doing here and what she has called him for - because when River calls him, there’s always a reason.

Another corner and finally here she is, almost hitting him as she’s running and doesn’t see him straightaway. He smiles as he immediately knows when she is. The curve of her belly is impossible to miss now, and he’s glad fate keeps putting that River on his way. He hasn’t seen an older or younger her for the whole time of her pregnancy and it’s almost a miracle.

“Hello Sweetie!” she greets him, smiling and he can’t help but notice her breath is rapid, like she’s been running for a long time. She raised on her feet to kiss him but pulls back before he can really appreciate the moment. “You may want to run now,” she says and he frowns at her.

“Why would I...”

He is interrupted by a sudden flash that passes a few inches to his ear and makes a hole into the wall behind them. He briefly catches a group of half-robot, half-human beings at a small distance in the corridor. They are armed and apparently, they have something against River. Or him. Or both of them. It doesn’t really matter as they shoot another time, and he swears as River takes his hand and drags him in the opposite direction.

He should have noticed earlier, that it was really weird he hadn’t met anyone during his walk in the ship. He understands now : they were all running after River...

“You could have warned me!” He screams into her ears as she shots behind them, and she simply smiles at him.

“I have.”

“Of course not!”

“I didn’t put any kiss in the note. I thought you would understand...” She winks at him and he groans, too busy opening the door he has arrived from and trying to seal it to do anything but mumble, since when does the lack of kiss in a message has become a way to warn him that she was surrounded by armed people trying to shot at her?

He tries a few settings on his sonic, unable to find the one that will close that door, which trembles each time a shot hits it - and there are many. River finally snatches it out of his hand and before he can protest she has it sets up, and it works. She holds it back to him with a wink and a smug smile. “Maybe we should go. I don’t think it will resist them a long time”. A look at the door, which shakes more now as their pursuers must have reached it and are trying to open it, confirms that she is probably right.

She is already a few steps from him by the time the Doctor turns his head back, and he runs after her, grumbling.

“River, stop!”

Of course, she doesn’t. And he has to admit, she walks fast for a pregnant woman; he is almost breathless by the time he arrives by her side. He grips her arm and slows down, and she looks at him with confusion.

“River, please, stop.”

“Shouldn’t it be more clever to keep running until we’re safe? Or...” she presses against him and he can feel her breath hot on his face, “do you have something more important to do?”

He grips her shoulders to pull her off of him and she sighs. “I guess it’s something serious then.” There’s a disappointment in her voice and she looks resigned to whatever sermon he has to say.

“River, you...” he hesitates. It doesn’t please him either, but he has to say it before something serious happen, “You can’t keep on doing this!”

“Doing what?”

“That! Running into something dangerous and... and being a target for weapons!”

She crosses her arms, and that’s enough for him to understand she’s angry. For a second he looks at her own gun and prays she doesn’t use _him_ as a target. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to yell at a pregnant River when she has a gun in her hands - it’s already a risk in normal situation, but who knows what can happen when she’s full of hormones?

“Doctor I’m just pregnant. Not ill or dying.”

“No, but what if something happens?”

“Nothing’s gonna happen. I still can defend myself.”

“It’s not about _yourself_!”

He might have screamed that last sentence a bit louder than necessary and River freezes in front of him. For a moment she doesn’t say anything, and when tears appear at the corner of her eyes he thinks that maybe it was a bit too much... “I’m sorry,” he apologizes, all his anger vanished, “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” He reaches out tentatively to stroke her arm, and he’s glad when she doesn’t stop him.

“No, no.” She wipes her tears away with the back of her hand and sniffles. “It’s okay. It’s not you.”

An explosion echoes behind them and they just have the time to duck before they’re the target of new shots. They take each other’s hand without having to say a single word and run together. The Doctor glances at River every now and then, checking she’s alright but so far she seems to be okay. He does not even say anything when she sometimes turns back to shoot, and if he was honest he would admit that this gun must have saved their lives.

They reach the Tardis without any other issues and soon they are safe, the sounds of blast vanishing as they send the ship into the vortex. It’s only when the silence fills the console room, River still and tensed against him that he remembers what they were actually talking about.

“I...” he begins but she cuts him off before he can continue.

“I appreciate that you care and worry about me. Us. But I...” She trails off and his chest hurts at the sight of her. She’s not angry, just frustrated and resigned. “What do you expect me to do? I can’t stay in Stormcage all day long, knitting and sipping tea and doing _nothing_. I can’t. That baby’s gonna change my life soon enough. I want to keep doing the things I like while I still can. I know what I do. I’ll stop when it will be too dangerous.”

She’s right and he knows that. He perfectly knows, because he has seen her in her future, and she’s fine, and the baby too. But he also knows she’s right about the fact that her life is going to change. He supposes sometimes between now and then she will understand it fully. He remembers the house and everything she has prepared in it. He remembers how she was perfectly okay with it - or seemed to be. He can’t help a wave of guilt growing inside of him as he wonders if he had not missed something at that time... When was the last time he visited her by the way? He has run away from that her after Demon runs and what he learned about her, and since then he has been taken by everything happening, never pausing, never stopping... and then she has been pregnant and he has completely forgotten there was another her somewhere with their baby, already born, waiting for him... Maybe he should visit her.

“Okay,” he gulps and hopes she won’t see his embarrassment, “Just... be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Or to her...”

She smiles and he can see the gratefulness in her eyes. He can’t resist then, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her tightly. He rests his chin upon her hair and runs his hand in her curls, breathing in deeply as all the excitement and anger and fear of the previous minutes flow out of him. She sighs deeply against his chest and he knows the question is over.

They stand tangled like that during a while, neither of them speaking as they just enjoy the embrace. But then River suddenly tenses and pulls back, clutching her hand around her stomach, and for a second the Doctor feels panic invading his whole body.

“What’s wrong? Is it the baby? How do you feel? What can I do?” the words spurt out of his mouth and he can stop them. River however doesn’t seem to understand his fears and she just smiles, shushing him by a finger on his mouth.

“Shh.”

She takes his hand and places it on the curve of her belly. For a moment he just looks at her with confusion, while she keeps smiling like something wonderful has just happened.

“What...”

“Wait.” She shushes him again and he does as he’s told: he waits. For a few seconds nothing happens, and then... It’s barely sensible, a tiny tremble, almost impossible to feel. But it’s here, and if he’s doubting River beaming at him eventually convinces him.

“Is she...?”

“Yes.” She covers her mouth with her hand as she giggles, and he kneels in front of her, pressing his ear against her stomach while stroking it gently.

“Come on,” he murmurs, “do it again. Daddy’s here. Move.”

As the same time the baby kicks again, as if she has heard and understood what she has been asked.

“Hey, did you feel it? Did you feel it?” It was already something to feel her thoughts around them, but feeling her actually moving is absolutely amazing.

“She’s playing inside my womb Sweetie, of course I feel it. I feel everything.” He laughs as the baby keeps moving and River winces. “Oi, she moves a lot.”

“She’s already trying to go out and run. Like her mother.”

“And like her father.”

He smiles, brushing his lips against her stomach before standing up, and kissing her properly on the lips.

They never argue about River running into danger again.

_**tbc** _


	6. Month 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been a bit long to post this one. I have still the last chapter to write, I hope I'll be able to do it quickly. It should be easier with holidays.  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter. More serious than the previous one. Special appearance of the Ponds, somewhere during the first part of s7.

_Chapter 6 - Month 5_

“Hello Pond!”

Her hand still on the knob of the front door, Amy stares at the Doctor with surprise. He hugs her before she can even move.

“Doctor? Have you really used the doorbell? No materializing around us, no interrupting my work or family meeting, no sending aliens in my bathroom, no...”

He winces, interrupting her. “I don’t do that!”

“Yes, my love, you do. I had to convince him we would use the normal human way tonight.” Amy gets off the Doctor’s embrace and looks behind him. River is standing here, smiling innocently at her husband - who is stirring out his tongue at her like the thousand-year-old child he is.

“Hello mum!” she greets her, ignoring the pouting Doctor as she passes in front of him to walk in. She hugs her mother and Amy gasps, feeling something between them that was definitely not there the last time they hugged.

“Oh my god River are you...” She pulls away, her hands automatically reaching River’s stomach, making sure it’s not a trick of her mind. “Is it... do you... oh yes!” She hugs River again before she can reply anything. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Yes, thank you mum,” River replies, laughing at Amy’s reaction. The two women stay in each other’s arms for a moment, and Amy looks at the Doctor, inquisitive; she remembers the day, a long time ago, when they found River and a baby, and was it the same? A discreet nod from the Doctor confirms she’s right. He silently articulate “spoilers” and she rolls her eyes at him - of course spoilers, of course she won’t say anything, she’s been travelling with him and has been River’s mother for long enough to know the rule.

“What are you two doing behind in my back?” River interrupts them.

“Nothing, love.”

She frowns, suspicious, but before she can even protest she is dragged inside the house by Amy, and she doesn’t even have a chance to stop her. “Doctor, close the door,” Amy demands while crossing the corridor, her hand firm around River’s arm. The next second they can hear the door being slammed shut behind them. “Rory, come down, surprise visit!”

A few seconds after Rory is running down the stairs. “What is it tonight, alien invasion, planet rescue, or has he burnt up his toaster again?” It’s only when he looks up, his feet already on the last step, that he realizes River’s here and that something is new. He stops abruptly, and for a few seconds doesn’t say anything, staring at her and there’s something in the way he looks at her that makes her feel uneasy. The Doctor shifts nervously next to her and when she turns her head to look at him she thinks she see his lips moving, like he’s telling her father something...

And then, after long heavy seconds finally Rory composes himself and all traces of his previous - what was it, anger, sadness, bitterness? - disappears and his smile is so bright she even wonders if she hasn’t imagined the whole thing. He hugs her and congrats her and even jokes about the fact he’s about to become a grandfather and he doesn’t feel _that_ old. And she forgets it while they enter the living-room and Amy brings champagne and fruit juice and harasses her with question about her pregnancy - since then, and is it a boy or her girl, and how is she feeling, and why have they waited so long to tell them - and she can’t think anymore.

Except Rory doesn’t take part in the conversation and there’s that look on his face again. After a few minutes he stands up and leaves the room without a word. The girls stop chatting, staring and gaping at him, and there’s no doubt now that something is wrong with him. Before they can react the Doctor stands up and follows him, waving at his wife and best friends reassuringly, and he disappears in the garden behind Rory.

x

“Amy can’t have children any more. Whatever they did to her, at Demon Runs…Have she told you?” He looks up, and the Doctor shakes his head negatively.

“No,” he whispers, his voice barely audible, suddenly hurt that Amy - his friend, his best friend - could have forgotten to tell him that. Or maybe she did but he hasn’t lived the moment yet? Or did she believe it would be too important for him to know? Because now that he knows he feels... guilty, because it is partly his fault; angry, because the Silence couldn’t do that to her. Melody... they had no right to do that either, but he can’t change that because there’s River, and River asked him not to change anything - _not one line, don’t you dare_ \- and he won’t. But he didn’t know the consequences for Amy and that... He clenches his fists,

Rory shrugs next to him. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t knew what the Silence did and you couldn’t have stopped it. Not now... I think. Changing that would change the whole story, and those events are too important to be changed anyway, aren’t they?”

The Doctor nods, slowly, reluctantly. It kills him to admit it to Rory, he would like to tell something else... but he can’t, that would be lying, both to him and to himself. There’s the selfish part of his soul that doesn’t want to change anything, even the tiniest bit, too afraid it would change everything.

“Can I... is there something I can do? To help? Maybe there are people, somewhere, than can help her and...”

“No,” Rory stops him, “don’t. We have been talking about that, for a while. We miss a child but... I don’t see how it could be possible with, you know, the life we have. We keep disappearing with you and travelling around the universe, facing dangerous aliens and monsters. How could we have a child with this? We couldn’t bring it with us without risking his life. And if we left while he’s at school, or sleeping, with you promising we’ll be right back but what if we’re not? And what if we die and he never knows? And I know... you won’t just stop coming, you’re a part of her life, you’ve been there since the beginning and you’ll surely be there ‘till the end. Even if we asked you to... but I can’t, Amy can’t, and I won’t ask her because I know she needs you... but even if we asked you... this is not how it works, with you coming in an order we don’t understand and I’m not sure it would be useful.”

He stops then, absorbed by the contemplation of his fingers drawing patterns on the table. The Doctor doesn’t say anything, because he can feel there’s more coming, and it’s not his turn to speak. Finally Rory sighs deeply and looks up, staring at the starry sky above their heads.

“And of course there’s River.”

His features lighten then, and a smile crosses his face briefly. The Doctor holds his breath, waiting for the next words - whatever they are, they are going to be important. He is not sure he has ever talked with Rory about River, not that way. This is not his friend in front of him anymore, this is not the husband of his best mate, this is a father, the father of his wife, the grandfather of his future child.

“We love her. She is not exactly what I had imagined as a child, not entirely human, time traveler, married to an alien that also happens to be the imaginary friend of my wife, spent half her time in prison and the other half god knows where... but we love her. And we miss her.” He frowns at that. “I know we shouldn’t. Because I know we have known her in her childhood, and I want to believe that in some kind of way we have raised her, not the normal way but we have, and now she regularly visits, and brings news, and comes for birthdays and Christmas, sometimes alone sometimes with you... But we miss her, anyway. We miss all we couldn’t have, holding her when she was a baby and rocking her when she couldn’t sleep, her first day at school and her first boyfriends, shouting at her because her skirt are too short or because her music is too loud... I know this sounds selfish but we miss that, with miss those things and we’re not going to have them back, never, neither with her nor with another child. We’re okay with that, but... we still miss those things.”

He stops, again, breathing in deeply, but this time his pause is shorter.

“And then... You come here and she’s pregnant and _you_ are going to have that... Or maybe not, because of... how do you say that? “timey wimey” reasons, and that would be even worse!” He sounds angry. Or maybe tired. Or hurt. Upset. Like he is trying to contain himself from jumping out of his chair and punching the Doctor very hard. And the Doctor would understand; right now, he would understand. “And I know... that child, we have already met her, haven’t we? The day we found her in that dark corridor and she was completely lost and panicked and we didn’t know her at all, none of us. I held my grandchild the day she was born and I didn’t even know who she was.”

He rubs his temple with the tip of his fingers and the Doctor doesn’t dare to move, not knowing how to react.

“I’m right, am I not? That child is the same?”

“Yes,” the Doctor replies softly. He has thought about it too, since the day he knew she was pregnant... He knows this is the same child and he knows he won’t be there when she is born - well, he will, he was, but not the way he would like to. And he knows he can’t change that.

“Are you... After she’s born, are you gonna take care of her? Of them? Are you gonna be there for them? You, _that_ you I mean. Or is she going to meet you in the wrong order and raise that child without you?”

“I don’t know,” he admits, and Rory frowns, “I can’t be sure. I have already met her, my daughter...” He stops and lets the memory of their meetings flooding his mind. His heart is lighter when he thinks about her. He thinks she’s beautiful, and amazing, but isn’t what all the parents think of their children? “Sometimes as a grown-up, sometimes as a teenager... And she knows me. So I think I must raise her... I must be present, at least a bit, during her life. I am, and I believe I will. I want to. I can’t promise it’ll be perfect but I’ll do everything I can.”

He dares to look at Rory then and his stepfather seems calmer, satisfied by his words. “Okay,” he replies simply and then there’s just the silence between them.

They stay like that, listening to the sounds of the night and the voices of the girls they can hear inside the house, laughing, screaming... doing what girls do when you hold out to them the promise of a baby.

After a while a cracking sound signals the door opening and they both look behind them as River appears on the threshold. Her gaze lingers on the Doctor, and then on Rory, trying to guess if it’s safe for her to interrupt. They smile at her and she knows everything is alright.

“If you two have finished, dinner is ready.”

“We’re coming,” Rory replies, his voice not telling anything that has been said between the two men.

She glances at the Doctor, silently asking if everything is right. He nods, his smile reassuring and she steps back in. Two men don’t move immediately, staying silent and breathing in the fresh air, trying not to think about the past or the future - and whatever is waiting for them.

**_tbc_ **


	7. Month 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, smut!  
> If you don't read smut you can skip it, nothing important happens in that chapter except for the sexy things ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Jenn for the beta

_Chapter 7 - Month 6_

When he wakes up the light is on, and he needs a few seconds to accommodate. He blinks a few times, and when he can see again, it’s to discover River sat up in the bed, a box in one hand and a spoon in the other one. She’s just entered the sixth month of her pregnancy and she is radiant, all round curves and he knows she’s going to grow rounder and even more beautiful in the following weeks.

“Hello Sweetie!” she greets him when she realizes he is awake.

“What are you doing?”

“Eating. I’m craving.” She takes another spoon, sucking it until there’s nothing left in it and he finally recognizes ice-cream.

“In the middle of the night?” He asks and she frowns at him.

“We’re in the Tardis, technically it’s never the night nor the day.” She smiles smugly and he has to admit she’s right.

“Okay. But how can you be starving while you’re _sleeping_?”

She shrugs. “I was dreaming about ice-cream. Then I woke up and I was still craving it. I couldn’t go back to sleep until I ate.”

He smiles and sits up next to her, dipping his finger in the ice-cream to taste it. “Hey!” she tries to hit him with the spoon but he moves faster and tastes the cream, humming in delight. “Bubble gum, my favorite flavour.”

“That’s _my_ ice-cream,” she replies, trying to sound angry but half-smiling at his childish behavior.

“That’s _my_ ship, _my_ kitchen, _my_ ice-cream.”

“I’m the pregnant woman, I’m the one who has cravings and can eat whatever I want whenever I want to.” She presses the container closer against her chest.

“It’s my baby too.” He reaches for the ice-cream and he is more rapid again, but this time he doesn’t eat what he has taken, wiping his finger on her nose. Before she can stop him he kisses her there and sucks at her skin. “Doctor...” she laughs and he smiles, kissing her nose a second time.

“You taste amazing,” he says, his tongue sticking out to lick the remaining cream on his lips. She giggles louder.

When he digs his finger into the ice-cream this time she doesn’t try to stop him and watches him intensely. Her marks her cheeks, the one and the other, before licking them clean. When he covers his fingers with cream the third time he smiles and asks her not to move.

She does as she’s told, catching her breath as he paints her lips with the cold cream. When he thinks they are covered enough he bent forward and kisses her, his tongue slowly licking her lips. He sucks them, and nips them, and when they are completely cleaned he keeps kissing her and she kisses him back. Her tongue nudges at his lips and they open, welcoming. She licks the roof of his mouth and sighs; he is hot and cold at the same time, and she can taste the ice-cream flavour mixed with something that’s absolutely _him_ , and it is so good she could kiss him for the rest of her life.

He breaks the kiss after a few seconds and after a last nip at her lips he pulls back a bit. “Can I?” He holds the container and she lets him take it. He holds her out a full spoon of ice-cream to thank her, bringing it to her mouth and she doesn’t break the eye contact as he slides it into her mouth. She swallows the sweet and releases the spoon with a pop, before licking her lips and his gaze darkens as he watches her.

He kisses her again but briefly, before reaching for more ice-cream and this time he begins to draw patterns on her neck. She giggles, because his touch tickles and she exactly knows what he is doing. She gasps when he replaces his finger by his lips and kisses her before sucking at her skin.

He explores her body like that, with little marks of ice-cream he erases with his mouth and tongue and teeth. He alternates nips and kisses, suckings and lickings; she shivers when her skin is too sensible to the cold and moans when his lips warmth her up. He wanders over her face, her neck, her shoulders, and when he can’t go further south he gently opens her dressing gown and pushes it aside. Gooseflesh forms on her body reacting to the fresh air of the room as she is suddenly completely naked and he lets some ice-cream dripping on her chest.

For a second he doesn’t move, staring at her, spread naked in front of him, staring at her flushed face and her pale skin, at her full breasts and her round stomach growing with life. She is wonderful and so desirable, the pregnancy enhancing everything sexy about her - generous curves and forms that seem to cry out for him to touch them.

He takes more ice-cream, already half melted now, and traces the shape of her breasts, before circling her nipples that harden instantly. He can feel her shivering under him when he takes the first peaks in his mouth and sucks, and when he attacks the second one she moans loudly, squirming. He smiles against her skin; he likes eating, and particularly ice-cream, but _that_ is far more interesting.

He gives the ice-cream up, eager to touch her and both his hands roam over her body, massaging her breasts while his mouth travels back up her neck to find the points that make her melt. When he bites at her throat, a few inches from her pulse point, her hips buck and her hands fist in his hair. He licks at the mark he’s just made while his fingers leave her chest and move down. He caresses his stomach gently, light touches that don’t forget their goal and reach further and further down until it’s not her stomach anymore. She gasps when he finds her folds and part them, stroking her wetness teasingly. She tugs at his hair and pull his head up so she can kiss him fiercely, and for a while it’s nothing but a battle of tongues, her hips rolling and his fingers deep inside of her.

She’s breathless when they part, and she growls in frustration as he removes his hand out of her. He drags it to his mouth and lick his fingers slowly, looking at her reaction out of the corner of his eyes. “You taste better than ice-cream.”

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, reaching up to remove his hand out of his mouth and kissing him hungrily. She attacks his lips and she clings to him, her nails digging in his bare chest. He wraps an arm around her and presses her close, until she’s flush against him and he can run his fingers along her back, down her spine and up her thighs, and they both moan as their body begin to rock, desperate for more contact. Her belly separates them and she growls, frustrated she can’t touch and be touched the way she wants to.

He eventually breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against hers, stroking her cheek as they both try to catch their breath. “Turn around,” he demands softly and she complies, after a last kiss on his lips.

For a few seconds there’s nothing, neither a kiss nor a touch, and she can only hear him rummaging behind her. She’s about to turn her head and remind him she’s waiting but then she can feel something cold against her back, and she remembers the ice-cream. He slowly draws a line of it on her back, from the roof to the top of her spine and she can’t help shivering. When he replaces his finger by his tongue, licking her all the way up she closes her eyes, moaning loudly as electrical jolts spread through her whole body.

“Please, please...” she begs, her hand reaching behind her to grab his hips and trying to press him closer. She needs him, against her, around her, in her, _now_ , or she’s going to explode. He smiles against the skin of her shoulders but he does come closer, his legs tangling with hers, his back pressed against her, and she can feel his erection nudging against her back.

“So beautiful,” he whispers, flying kisses against her neck, inhaling deeply in her hair, his hands lightly touching her.

“Stop teasing and fuck me!” She stresses her words by rolling her hips against his cock and he growls. She smiles, because she knows now she’ll get what she wants.

“Shh, there’s a child listening.”

“She doesn’t understand anything, and even if she does, she’ll probably...”

Her last words turn into a moan as he spreads her legs and thrusts into her. She can almost see the smile on his face, smug that he has interrupted her in the middle of her sentence. But she doesn’t care because he’s finally inside her and _moving_. His fingers dance on her skin, hesitating before one reaches her chest, massaging her breasts while the other goes south to play with her clit. She is already sensitive after his previous teasing and it doesn’t take long before she falls apart, coming with a cry.

He’s still pounding into her when she comes back to her sense and she whispers encouragements to him. Her hand moves from his thigh, reaching between his legs for his balls and stroking him until his thrusts become erratic and she feels him losing control.

He rolls out of her and on his back, and she turns around to snuggle against his side. He wraps his arm around her, and she hums in delight while he strokes her back mindlessly. He is already drifting away when she whispers in his ears.

“Can I have my ice-cream back?”

He groans but doesn’t move. “It’s all melted.”

“But I’m still hungry.” Her tone is demanding and he knows he doesn’t have the choice. He sits up, reaches out for the box and he’s right, all the cream is all melt down but she doesn’t seem to care. “Thank you.”

He falls back on the bed and presses his nose against her skin. All he can feel before falling asleep in her hand running into his hair and her humming of content as she keeps eating.

**_tbc_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jsyk, chapter 8 is done, I just have to write chapter 9 and this part of the series will be done... I don't know when I'll find the courage to end it though, I get attached to that fic.   
> I also began a Christmas fic with the time baby, I hope it won't take too long to write.   
> Thank you for your patience. And Merry Christmas to all of you.


	8. Month 7

_Chapter 8 - Month 7_

The Doctor doesn’t run all the time. Of course he does run, a lot, and he assumes people think it’s the only thing he does because that’s maybe the only thing he lets them see. But sometimes he’s tired of running and he pauses. A nice place, a cup of tea, some scones and that’s all he needs.

Today is that kind of day. He lets the Tardis decided the when and where - she always finds the most perfect places, and so she does today. A little peaceful tea house, with a nice staff and comfortable chairs, and they have already given him a wonderful plate of sweet scones that smells deliciously good and a steaming tea that is extraordinarily tasty. He eats a first scone, swallows some tea and presses back against the back of his chair, opening the local newspaper. He is in England, 2012, in the end of decembre, exactly the 22nd. The headline is about the end of the world that didn’t happen and immediately his attention is drawn. Human beings and their apocalyptic myths, they really have no idea how far they are from the end of the world...

He is reading the main article with interest when something brushes against his hand, and by the time he looks up from the newspaper, one of his scones has disappeared. It’s not far really, just a few inches from his plate in River’s hand and... Oh, no, it has just disappeared into her mouth.

She smiles at him and he lets go of the newspaper, crossing his hands upon the table and frowning.

“You stole my scone...”

She swallows before answering. “Hello, Sweetie.”

He tilts his head and it takes him a few seconds to realize what is wrong with her. It’s been so long that it feels a bit weird; she isn’t pregnant. For what he can see at least, or what he can feel. It’s hard to tell if she’s before, or after, but he’s sure, she’s not pregnant.

They have been linear for the last few months and he doesn’t know what it means. He knows, has always known that they were going to stop meeting in the right order before she gives birth to their child, s it now? Or is it just a parenthesis?

“Hello River,” he simply replies, not wanting to let her know how many questions fight in his head. “What are you doing here?”

“Have you read the news?” She motions in direction of the paper and reaches out for his cup of tea while he’s distracted by the glancing at the title. “Yesterday was the end of the world, I couldn’t miss that.”

She smiles innocently as she sips his breuvage and he ignores her words.

“It is my tea...”

“We’re married Sweetie, everything that’s yours is mine.”

She winks as she puts the cup down and takes another scone, biting it hungrily before he can stop her - but really, even trying to stop her would be useless and he knows that. So he simply sighs and raises his hand, calls the waitress to ask another plate and another cup. When his order is taken, River has already eaten half of the remaining pastries, but he can’t help but smile. How could he be cross with her?

She swallows a last mouthful and wipes the rest of jam lingering on her lips with her napkin. When it’s done she replaces the cloth back on the table, before taking something out of her jacket he recognizes as her diary.

“So, when are you?” He doesn’t reply but smile instead, letting her the pleasure to search a bit. He also doesn’t know what to say exactly, because if it’s this River is _before_ , the last few months of his life are completely _spoilers_.

She looks carefully at him before opening her blue book and turning a few pages. “Delphi?” He stares at her open-mouthed before shaking his head and answering. “I’ve been to Delphi.”

She giggles and clasps her hand. “I was sure! When?”

“Six, maybe seven months ago...”

“Not far from the end then?”

He sighs - not far from the end, she is right, but he doesn’t want it to end. This pregnancy is one of the best thing they have lived together, together, and he knows that what comes after... Well, no, if he wants to be honest he doesn’t know what comes after. He knows the beginning of their daughter’s life and some parts in between, the moments he has met her by chance or accident, but he doesn’t know anything else. But maybe this River knows, does she?

The waitress brings them another plate of scones and new tea, and he thanks her, sipping a bit of the breuvage while River takes another scone - the first plate is almost empty already. She looks at him through her lashes while she eats and he drinks, waiting patiently for him to say something.

“And you,” he finally asks, “when are you exactly?”

She raises a brow and smiles at him. “Oh, Sweetie, I did Delphi _ages_ ago,” she breathes out, insisting so much on the ages and he doesn’t even dare to imagine how long it can be. He feels a chill of excitation running through his veins; oh yes, she _knows_ then.

He leans over and over all the questions he currently thinks about, this one seems the more important. “How is she?”

“Fine. Brilliant. Wonderful. Perfect. But you’ve met her, you know that already.”

He closes his eyes briefly, just enough to remember those few times he actually has; all the adjectives River’s just said are completely true. “I’ve only met her a few times and it was always too short. You know her better than me.”

She raises her hand and takes his, squeezing it gently. He won’t tell her but at this moment he feels a bit jealous of her to be so far away.

“How do we do?” he asks.

“Do what?”

“That. Her.”

She smiles and strokes his hand reassuringly. “As usual.”

He winks. This is not the answer he has been waiting for. Usually their life is full of danger and accidents, everything happening haphazardly and he’s not sure it’s the best thing for raising a child.

“Don’t worry,” she says, like she has heard what he’s been thinking, “she’s a Time Lord, it’s perfect for her.” She lets go of his hand and takes the last scone of the first plate, already glancing with envy over the second. “And before you ask, you were perfect too, always showing up for Christmas and birthdays, and she loves you.”

His eyes light up as she says so, and he feels some weight on his heart disappears. It feels better to know that, despite all the obstacles, he somehow will be, is, has been, a real father for their child. He beams at River and she smiles back at him, and he’s almost bouncing on his chair with joy. But he doesn’t bounce, and he stares at River while she attacks his second plate of scones. It’s not usual. It’s not normal. She doesn’t eat like that, never has done, except... And then he gulps, taking her hand as she reaches out for another scone.

“River, you... You’re not pregnant again, are you?”

For a second that seems to last an eternity she doesn’t reply, looking at the first empty plate and the second where a few pastries are already missing. She purses her lips and the Doctor feels a wave of heat spreading through his body; he doesn’t know if it’s fear or elation, he doesn’t even know what he wants her to answer right now.

Finally she throws her head back and laughs. “Oh no, no I’m not. I just haven’t eaten anything for days...”

He sighs, in what he realizes is relief. One baby is already enough issues, and as far as he would like a second child, and a third, and a million if they could, he knows it’s not the right thing.

“But you know,” River bends over him again and whispers, “we can still try again.” She licks her lips and sucks the sugar off her fingers, slowly, tantalizingly, winking at him. He feels another heat running into him, that has nothing to with fear or elation, at all, and this time he perfectly knows what he wants.

He stands up abruptly, hitting the table and the tablewares clinks at it shakes. He grabs her hand, pulling her up while his other hand put some random money on the table.

“We haven’t finished the tea,” she points out, but lets him drag her out anyway.

“I know. I have more important things to do than sipping tea.”

She laughs as the door closes behind them.

**_tbc_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, only one chapter left... It's already written and is waiting for beta. I'm really gonna miss this story.  
> Chapter beta'd by Tara.


	9. Month 8

_Chapter 9 - Month 8_

He lands directly in the middle her cell, not a few meters in the corridor like he usually does. He knows that she doesn’t like that, that she will probably tell him that she can still walk the few steps between her cot and the Tardis’ door. Like she has said before, _I’m not ill or dying, just pregnant_ , and of course there is no danger for her in that little space; but he just can’t help. It is what makes him a good husband and a good father, the best he can at least, to be worry for her and the baby and trying to make the last day of her pregnancy as comfortable as possible, isn’t it?

He sighs as he feels the Tardis materializing in Stormcage without the usual _worp-worp_ \- he even makes that effort for her, because he knows she doesn’t like the sound. He sighs because he knows the end is near. He doesn’t exactly now how close they are, but the blessed time of her carrying their child is almost over. Each time he comes her belly has grown bigger and rounder and it has almost reached its limits. He can also feel the baby inside, stronger, her thoughts clearer, and he knows she’s almost ready.

River steps inside and he smiles, forcing his thoughts to hide in the back of his mind. There is no way she discovers what’s going to happen anytime soon, and there is no way he’s going to think about it while he can be with her and enjoy their last moments.

He doesn’t have to force himself a lot. She just has to enter his field of vision and everything disappears. It’s impossible to worry and think about the future when she’s right in front of him, more beautiful than ever, all lines and curves that seem to scream “I’m carrying your child” to the whole world. He is so proud of her, and so happy to know that, despite the obstacles, she is doing it so well - will do, have done. There are moments when she doubts, even if she never says so to him, but there wouldn’t be a better mother to his child and he will never stop to admire her for that.

“Hello Sweetie,” she greets him, her breath heavier and her walk slower as their child takes more place inside of her. Tonight though he can feel her more tired as she approaches him, almost impatient. There are rings under her eyes and she breathes out soundly. He frowns as he sends the Tardis into the vortex and wonders what’s wrong.

He wraps an arm around her after making sure the ship is safely sent far away from the dark cold cell, placing his free hand on her cheek to stroke her skin fondly. She closes her eyes under his touch, sighing deeply and he feels her relax just a little, but not enough to wipe all the exhaustion from her face. He kisses her then, a quick pressure of his lips against hers, and when he pulls back she’s finally smiling. That’s better, he thinks, but not enough.

“You’re wonderful,” he says, hoping it’ll cheer her up. But instead she snaps her eyes open and frowns.

“I don’t think you look very well.”

He opens his mouth, ready to contradict her but she’s faster than him.

“I’m fat. I can’t wear any proper thing. I can’t run anymore. I can’t even walk without huffing and puffing. There are all those creases around my belly. I’m always on the verge to cry or to laugh or to blow up. My legs hurt. And I haven’t even seen my feet for weeks.”

He steps back from her and looks down with a concentrated face.

“Your feet seem perfectly fine if you worry,” he says to her and he can see in her eyes that she doesn’t know if he’s serious or not.

“They are _not_. They are swollen and trapped in those hideous flat shoes,” she huffs with irritation. Somehow the Doctor feels a bit better. There is nothing wrong after all. She is just a bit grumpy. It must be the hormones. Or her natural character that feels frustrated by her state, and he can understand that. He’s amazed she hasn’t made a scene like that before.

“I like your shoes. Even if I prefer the high heels, right, but they still fit you. And I love you, whatever you look like.”

Usually this is enough to elicit a smile from her, but now she simply rolls her eyes at him. “You can’t understand. You don’t feel like you’re a few tons whale.”

He watches as she steps away from him and around the console, a hand on her belly, her hips swaying slowly as she walks, one foot at a time, finding her balance at each step. She is the one who doesn’t understand. He _really_ finds her beautiful. And wonderful. It’s not only the miracle of the life she’s carrying. She is physically attractive and gorgeous and still graceful. His River Song.

He can’t let her pout like that.

Before she can reach the opposite side of the console he is jumping on his feet, running to her. Without a single word of explanation, he grabs her hand firmly and tugs him with her. She protests a bit, without real conviction, and lets him drags her inside the ship. He tries not to walk too fast, letting her the time to breathe and careful she won’t be hurt - hurt with what, he doesn’t really know, but it feels better to be cautious.

“What are you doing?” she asks but he doesn’t reply. There are only a few steps left and she can wait a bit.

They just follow a corridor, turn left, cross what looks like a station concourse, and finally reach what he has been looking for. He opens the door and pushes her inside while she looks at him with suspicion.

She doesn’t make more than a few steps inside the room. The look on her face clearly shows that she disapproves, but he finds it absolutely perfect.

The walls of the room are entirely made of mirrors. Lots and lots of mirrors, and it feels like entering one of those creepy attractions you can find in fairs. Except this isn’t a labyrinth, and the way out is easy to find - the door is still in classic wood. The Doctor has changed it after he spent twenty hours looking for the exit last time he was in there.

River sighs as he enters after her and closes the door. “I don’t understand.”

He stays behind her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders as their gazes meet in the mirror in front of them. “Maybe you’re right, I can’t understand what it feels like to carry a child,” he begins and she shifts against him, “but I can make you understand what I see.”

“Doctor, I...”

“Shh.” He uses that shushing trick and River frowns disapprovingly at him. She hates when he does that on her, even if he doesn’t use it often on her. He usually is too afraid of the consequences. “I know you don’t like that but like me talk. Let me try.”

He makes that begging face and there is nothing she can do but nod. Even if she’s a bit cross and stressed and awfully pregnant and full of hormones, she can’t resist him.

“You’re not fat,” he begins when she relaxes. “I won’t lie and tell you haven’t gain weight. But it’s all well-placed. More boobs.” She watches his reflection as his hands slide from her shoulder to her breasts, stroking them gently and she fights to keep a angry face. “I completely approve the change.” He gives them a little pinch before letting them, going lower and caressing her sides.

“You still have a waist. I don’t know how you do that, it is usually lost when the baby takes too much place, but somehow you still have a waist, a beautiful curvy waist. Look at it.” Almost against her will she turns her head, looking at the actual curve. But the Doctor’s hands are already gone, his thumbs exploring her back and continuing their way down.

“You arse hasn’t changed. Not a single bit.” He smacks it playfully. “Round, firm, soft, perfectly fits in my hands.” He strokes it like he usually does in their most intimate moments, and she’s suddenly very aware of his breath on her neck. She bits her lips and tries to focus and what he says. “Have you ever looked at it? I think, if I were you, I would spend my day in that room, looking in the mirror at my bottom. This is the best I’ve ever seen, and you can believe me River, I have seen _lots_ of bums in my long life.”

“Doctor...” she breathes his name out, trying not to push back against him while his hands still caress her. He tears his eyes off of her arse then, looking up at her like he just wakes up from a deep dream. He clears his throat and continues.

“Legs. What did you say about your legs? They are still so long... I have to stop looking at them sometimes you know, because I know if I stare at them too long I’ll have some inappropriate thoughts and it can be embarrassing. They even seem longer since you’ve been pregnant, I don’t know how, it’s like a magic trick. I can assure you, your legs are perfectly fine. Perfectly perfect.”

His eyes drink the sight of her and she’s amazed by the sight. She knows how he looks at her, she has always known, and maybe it’s a good thing he can tell her. She has got accustomed to this, until she has almost forgotten what it means. He finds her attractive, always has, always will be.

“And you can even look at your feet here,” he finishes with a smile and this time she can’t repress a giggle. He is right. For the first time in weeks she can see her feet, in a multitude of mirrors so she has them from every angles. Of course it doesn’t change the fact that she has a huge obstacle between her eyes and them, but for now it’s the best she can have.

“But this is not the most important,” he moves on, most seriously, “I’m talking about that, of course.” He stops, leaning closer against her to stroke her belly. His mouth is close to his ear as he speaks, and she can see them both in the mirrors, looking at each other and looking at her body. “You talked about creases, I only see your beautiful skin, magically extended to host a life. You think you’re fat, I’m amazed you gave our child the perfect place to grow. I know she’s in there, taking space, hitting you, and maybe you think it’s not pretty, that it’s too big, too much. I think you are gorgeous. This is gorgeous. It reminds me how much I love you, how much I love her, how all of this is amazing.”

The Doctor hears River sniffle and he stops looking into the mirror to properly watch her.

“I...” she begins, and then is cut by a sob. The Doctor smiles and moves so as he can face River. He takes her face in his hands and searches his eyes.

“And I absolutely love how you can break in tears or suddenly laugh or pout.”

“I know you say that to make me happy,” she says while wiping her tears. All her previous anger seems to have disappear.

“I don’t. You know I say the truth.”

She doesn’t have to stare at him for a long time to know that no, he doesn’t lie. She believes every single word he has said. Somehow, it makes it harder. What did she do to deserve him?

He just keeps smiling at her, and kisses her gently.

x.

River stays the equivalent of two days with him, and she is smiling and laughing, enjoying her time.

But then it’s time for her to go back in Stormcage. And as he drops her this night, and she still seems so happy, radiant; as he kisses her goodbye and strokes her belly a last time; as she closes the door and he watches her on his scanner, he knows.

He knows that in a few hours, or maybe a few days, she will pack her things and join an archaeological expedition. She thinks she still have a few weeks before the baby comes, and she thinks the place she’s going to explore is safe. Except she is wrong.

In a few days, her baby will be born, and it won’t be the right Doctor to hold her. River has not a clue that this is going to happen, and the Doctor knows he can’t say a single word.

Maybe it’s time to do what he hasn’t done for a while. Maybe he should come back to her, to the River he has left alone in a house with their child after Demon Runs. Maybe it’s time to face the fact that he is a father, and that his girls are somewhere, waiting for him.

With a last glance to River, knowing this is the last time he’s going to watch like that, pregnant and so beautiful, he enters the coordinates to another River - the mother of his child.

**_the end_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the end. Wow. I've been working on this fic for months and it feels weird not to have it anymore. But don't worry. The time baby series is not over and I still have lots of things to write. Like, I know, I haven't explained how River could stay in Stormcage while fully pregnant, and I'll try to explain that. And other things ;)  
> I'd like to thanks everybody that follows this story til its end, everybody that gave me kudos, everybody that commented. Everybody on tumblr that liked and reblogged. It helped me when I didn't know what to write or if I'd be able to reach the end.  
> Thanks to Cazzie who I met thanks to that fic. Thanks to Jen who also commented every single chapter of that fic. Thanks to people like Erica or Alicia on tumblr - I never talk to them but I should have because they always reblog or like my fics.  
> Thanks in general to everybody that I forgot.  
> And a special and HUGE thank to Jenn and Tara who beta'd me and helped me all the way long. I wouldn't have made it without them.


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